Body part, seats, luggage found in EgyptAir search: Greek minister

20th May 2016, 0 comments

A body part, seats and one or more items of luggage were found Friday by crews searching for the wreckage of an EgyptAir passenger jet that crashed in the Mediterranean, Greece's defence minister said.

"A few hours earlier we were informed (by Egyptian authorities) that a body part, two seats and one or more items of luggage where found in the search area" north of the coastal Egyptian city of Alexandria, Panos Kammenos told a news conference.

He said other aircraft participating in the search had "allegedly reported more findings in another area, but currently we have no official confirmation that they belong to the plane in question."

The EgyptAir plane carrying 66 people disappeared from radar screens early Thursday, taking two sharp turns before plunging 22,000 feet into the Mediterranean Sea, according to Greek officials.

Egypt's military earlier on Friday said search teams had spotted personal belongings of passengers and parts of the Airbus A320 about 290 kilometres (180 miles) north of Alexandria.